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Online Grocery BigBasket To Go Offline Post Alibaba Investment Following an investment by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Online grocer BigBasket is keen to go beyond its online-only model so as to counter the recent venture of Amazon and Flipkart into the offline business. The Bengaluru-based company is looking to supplement its core online business with offline kiosks that will stock daily groceries, fast-moving consumer goods, fruits and vegetables. These kiosks will be installed across various apartments and office complexes. BigBasket has already started a pilot for the new service with a separate app called BB Instant. To get users into increasing their purchasing frequency, it is also considering starting a subscription service for essential items like milk and bread, among others. BigBasket recently closed a $300 million financing round led by Alibaba. Hari Menon, founder and CEO, BigBasket said they were looking to scale up their offline kiosks into thousands ...

Motorola To Open 1,000 Offline 'Moto Hubs' Across India In order to boost the offline presence, Handset maker Motorola has said it will set up 1,000 'Moto Hubs' across 100 cities, as the "first milestone" of the offline progress. Motorola Mobility India Managing Director Sudhin Mathur without giving a definite timeline on reaching the 1,000 count said, the hubs could push revenue from offline channels to 50% of total sales over a period of time. Mathur said, "The next level of growth will come from the offline channel and the company does not want to be left out. The 1,000 hubs are our first milestone.” He said as per industry standards, two-third of sales come from offline channels, "while for us it is just reverse. Ideally, I think revenue from offline and e-commerce should be equal. Mathur said both Motorola and Lenovo brands were doing well in India with double-digit growth figures. He added the eastern region contributes 15% ...

Lingerie Brand 'Inner Sense' Secures Funds From Venture Catalysts Lingerie brands startup Inner Sense has secured Rs 2.5 cr (USD 385,000) in the startup’s pre-Series round A from Funding and incubation platform Venture Catalysts. Dharmesh Dalal, Vijay Lakhani and Matulya Shah, Venture Catalysts were the major investing partners present as per the company’s statement. The company will use the capital for expansion, said co-founder Lakhani, an NIFT graduate. Dalal, partner at Ekkum Advisors LLP and one of the investors, said limited competition in the women’s innerwear segment and the founders’ expertise in textiles and product design will help Inner Sense expand. Mumbai-based investment platform usually invests between $250,000 and $1 million in early-stage startups. It operates in seven cities Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Lucknow, Raipur and Surat. Inner Sense was set up in 2014 by Abhishek Lodha and Neerja Lakhani. It sells organic antimicrobial inner...

KFC To Put ‘Stealth Kitchens’ On Menu To Widen Reach In a bid to leverage the rapidly growing online food delivery model used by aggregators such as Swiggy and Zomato, KFC plans to set up stealth kitchens in India, probably a first for the domestic quick service industry in the country. "These standalone full-service KFC kitchens won’t have any customer interface, will not double up as dine-in or take-away stores, and will have minimal branding," shares Samir Menon, MD, KFC India. Adding on the same Menon says, “We can’t always expect the customer to come to us - we also have to find ways to go to the customer as far as possible. We believe the concept will help create accessibility for customers who don’t necessarily have a KFC around them." The release also shares that Yum Brands which owns KFC is looking at driving delivery in different ways across the business. “Delivery for the category has been growing and fuelled by food aggregators — they fired ...

Japanese Food Processing Major ISE Foods   To Set Up Unit At Siddipet In Telangana Japanese food processing major ISE Foods has planned to set up a processing unit near Siddipet in Telangana soon, the state government said today. The Telangana government has "handed over all the required allotments and incentives details" to the Chairman of ISE Foods Nobuhiko ISE at a meeting held in Hyderabad today, it said in a release. A MoU with ISE foods was inked during state Industries Minister KT Rama Rao's visit to Japan in January this year. Rao outlined the focus sectors of the state government. It said the state government would extend all possible assistance to Japanese investors willing to invest in Telangana.